Page 262 - September 23 to 24 Important Chinese Art Christie's NYC

No expense was spared in the making of this magnificent table. The abundant use of
zitan and the bold yet intricate carving suggest that the table was created in the Imperial
workshops. The present table appears to be part of a group of massive imperial zitan tables
elaborately carved with kui dragons at the spandrels. Measuring a staggering 92 ¾ in. (235.6
cm.) wide, the present table is longer than any other comparable published example, shorter
only than a pair of zitan tables sold at Christie’s Hong Kong: In Pursuit of Refinement – A
Legacy of the YC Cheng collection, 3 May 2013, lot 1952. Two smaller examples from the
Palace Museum are illustrated by Hu Desheng in Ming Qing gong ting jia ju da guan, vol. I,
Beijing, 2006, pp. 209 and 211, nos. 229 and 231. Of these three examples, the present table
most closely resembles in its design and its precise carving the pair sold at Christie’s Hong
Kong. See another zitan long table which shares the same designs of cloud scrolls and lotus
lappets found on the current tables, op. cit., p. 207, no. 225.
It is very rare to find oversized zitan furniture as the production cost would have been
considerable. By the early Qing period, zitan wood became a very expensive commodity
due to excessive lumbering activities throughout the Ming dynasty. The scarcity was
compounded by the natural growth pattern of these trees, which are slow growing
and require centuries to fully mature into usable material. Although local sources of
zitan existed in the southern provinces of Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, much of
the material was imported from Southeast Asia. As an imported material, zitan was
scrupulously monitored, carefully restricted, and only reserved for the highest-ranking
members of the Court – with the choicest material reserved for imperial use.
This type of long table was usually placed against a wall in a palace room to display
decorative objects, as depicted in court paintings. An example still in situ inside the
Cuiyunguan, the Hall of Green Cloud, is illustrated in Furniture of the Ming and Qing
Dynasties (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong,
2002, pl. 263. Interiors furnished with zitan furniture created a sumptuous effect that
conveyed an image of power, luxury, and taste during the Qing period.

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